Eighteen suspects linked to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise have been transported to Florida to face trial, United States officials said on Sunday.
Gatekeepers News reports that Moise, 53, was shot dead on July 7, 2021, at his private residence by a group of about 20 Colombian military-trained mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene during the attack.
“Today’s multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI’s continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice,” FBI Special Agent Brett Skiles said on X.
Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones confirmed the transfer, saying: “18 transported in military plane from Haiti to face American justice in the Southern District of Florida.”
“Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished,” Quinones added, saying 30 suspects had so far been indicted in connection with the assassination.
Among those extradited was Joseph Felix Badio, a key suspect in the investigation and a former anti-corruption official at Haiti’s Ministry of Justice, according to Haitian government and police sources cited by AFP.
The other suspects are Colombian nationals who were allegedly involved in the operation, the sources said.
Colombia Monitoring Transfer
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that it was closely monitoring “the transfer of 17 Colombian citizens from the Republic of Haiti to the United States.”
The ministry said Bogotá “did not intervene in the decision or in the process that led to the transfer of its citizens to the United States, a matter that falls under the jurisdiction of the competent authorities of the countries involved.”
In May, four men were convicted by a federal court in Miami on charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moise, conspiracy to provide material support and violating the US Neutrality Act by participating in an illicit military operation abroad.
The four men face possible life sentences.
US federal prosecutors said all four were linked to CTU, a Florida-based private security company, and were recruited into the plot with the expectation of securing lucrative contracts following Moise’s removal from office.
Eleven people had previously been indicted in connection with the assassination in US courts, which have jurisdiction over plots developed on American soil.
Haiti Remains in Crisis
Moise’s assassination plunged Haiti deeper into political and security turmoil. The country currently has no president and is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative elections since 2016.
The elections, alongside a referendum on the constitution, are scheduled for December 13, subject to security conditions.
Armed gangs currently control around 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince, while kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings continue to plague the impoverished Caribbean nation.
A United Nations-backed armed force established to support Haitian police in combating the gangs will not be fully staffed by October as originally planned, its spokesman said earlier this month.
